NMML executive council had recently approved amendments to the NMML memorandum of association to facilitate building of a new museum and regulate the working of the NMML society.

Government sources told ET that the Centre was keen on pushing the idea of the museum for all Prime Ministers on the same campus

The Nehru Memorial Museum and Library (NMML), which has seen several controversies over the last four years, will remain as it is and a separate museum dedicated to prime ministers will come up in the complex of Teen Murti Bhavan, the house of former PM Jawaharlal Nehru. This was decided at the end of the 43rd annual general meeting of NMML held at the North Block
on Thursday.

The meeting witnessed fierce arguments, with six members of the NMML society opposing a museum for prime ministers in the existing campus. However, the idea was cleared by Union home minister Rajnath Singh who presided over the meeting. Towards the end of the meeting, 15 members supported the idea, proposing that the project should focus on facilitating scholarly research and not go against the mandate of NMML.

NMML director Shakti Sinha told ET: “A museum for all former prime ministers will be built in the Teen Murti Bhavan complex.” With regard to disagreement over the concept of the museum, he said: “We will recirculate the concept note, ask for views from the members and accommodate them accordingly. We are in no hurry.”

He later tweeted that with the museum of prime ministers, "Teen Murti would be Nehru +, Nehru's legacy would be maintained and upgraded."

The NMML executive council had recently approved amendments to the NMML memorandum of association to facilitate building of a new museum and regulate the working of the NMML society.
Thursday’s meeting was convened to get the changes cleared by the society.

The changes were opposed by Congress’ Jairam Ramesh, Mallikarjun Kharge, Karan Singh, historian Nayanjyot Lahiri, economist Nitin Desai and BP Singh. INTACH’s AGK Menon who had opposed the museum project last year citing that it violated heritage concerns excused himself from the meet.

Ramesh, who has been consistently opposing the idea of Museum for PMs “because it obliterates the legacy of Nehru”, told ET that the real agenda of the government was “revealed by the fact that the main photo in the seminar room of NMML is now of Deen Dayal Upadhyay and not of Nehru”.

The opposing members also insisted that Nehru museum remained the way it is, after the proposed upgradation by the centre, part of a modernisation project costing up to Rs 10 crore. They demanded the amendments be deferred.

Others who were in agreement that the premises could also have another museum dedicated to all Prime Ministers included minister M J Akbar, MP Swapan Dasgupta, Prasar Bharati chairman A Surya Prakash, Niti Aayog vice chairman Rajiv Kumar and others. The museum will come up in 25 acre estate in the Teen Murti Bhavan campus, and will be separate from the existing structure of the Nehru Memorial, officials said, adding that Rs 280 crore has already been allotted by the Centre for this project.

The NMML administration has put together a team of researchers and experts who are working on getting in touch with family members of former Prime Ministers and getting content for the new project ready.

No clarity on governing society The number of voices opposing the museum for Prime ministers increased from three last year, to six this year. However, as the agenda points were not discussed separately in the meeting as there was opposition right from the start, according to a member who opposed the museum project, "it remained unclear if the new building was seen as part of the existing NMML structure."

"As long as it is not part of NMML, the role of NMML society remains open ended here. These concerns were not considered in the meeting," the society member said, however adding that it was "made clear" that the existing museum would not be touched.

"It was however pointed out that renovation work has already begun which needs to be checked," the member added.

Members who support the project however had a different view.

"We don't have formal voting. As the separate amendments were not discussed, we would like to believe that since the idea of the museum coming up on the premises has been accepted, everything that goes with it, including expediting the upgradation work at NMML can be taken as approved," a member of the society said.

Government sources told ET that the Centre was keen on pushing the idea of the museum for all Prime Ministers on the same campus, as "the land on which NMML stands and also the land on its premises belonged to the government."

"Six people have given opposing views. That will not stop the project as the culture ministry, CPWD and NMML have already worked out the logistics and implementation," an official source said.

The NMML at the Teen Murti Bhavan was set up in the memory of the country's first prime minister Jawaharlal Nehru as an autonomous institution under the Ministry of Culture.